2010 WEG Dressage

This equine massage therapist might not seem like the conventional dressage aficionado, but he’s found his place helping horses achieve their best.

Peek over a stall door at a big East Coast dressage show, and there’s a pretty good chance you’ll see a muscled, tattooed, mustached man in there working his magic. He’ll be stretching a leg, manipulating a muscle, or quietly soothing the horse with a look of complete contentment on his face.

There’s no FEI rule that says a dressage horse must be disqualified for blood in his mouth, but there’s no protocol in place for a different outcome either.

She was ranked the No. 2 dressage rider in the world and had high hopes for an individual medal. But during the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, Adelinde Cornelissen of the Netherlands was rung out after blood-colored foam appeared in Jerich Parzival’s mouth early on in their test.

While at the WEG, our columnist enjoyed watching a special horse, as well as taking the opportunity to learn from the program used by the Dutch gold medalists.

In the early 1970s, while living in New Hampshire, I remember my mother made what seemed at the time like a pilgrimage when she drove to Saratoga, N.Y., to see Secretariat. Upon her return home, she couldn’t stop talking about him—his special qualities, how he was a “once-in-a-lifetime horse” and how she was so glad she made the effort to see him.

I’m not a journalist, just writing straight from the heart, so please forgive me if I seem overly positive. I was just really happy the whole time I was at the World Equestrian Games! Plus, I guess any time I see a horse I'm not too picky, just enjoying them!

My time at WEG was fantastic. I got to see many of the people I know and love. The fact that so many I didn't know recognized me and voiced their support was incredible. So touching. The way the staff treated me was amazing; there are benefits to being injured!

While everyone expected Moorlands Totilas and Edward Gal to make a clean sweep of all three dressage medals—Team, Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix freestyle— at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, it was still a relief for Gal that he lived up to that heady expectation by capturing the last of that gold medal trio tonight.

An individual gold medal for Moorlands Totilas and Edward Gal seemed like a given going into the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, but that didn’t make victory any less sweet for the phenomenal combination from the Netherlands.

Gal scored 85.70 percent, a margin of 4 points over second place and 7 points over third in the Grand Prix Special.